Meatless meals still filling, flavorful, thrifty

A meatless meal offers a pleasant change from the usual beef, chicken or pork dishes.

Usually one night a week, I prepare dinner with no meat. I may make a fresh vegetable pasta dish or find a new way to fix dried beans. When summer's fresh veggies appear, we may have what cafes and diners call a vegetable plate.

Last week, I had a package of dried red beans that I wanted to use, but didn't want the heaviness of red beans and rice. I searched my recipes and the Internet for a different kind of bean dish. Better Homes and Gardens' website had just the ticket, a Southwestern Bean Soup with Cornmeal Dumplings.

That recipe used canned beans, but I simply substituted dried red beans and still used the canned black beans called for in the recipe. I soaked the red beans in water overnight so they would be tender. I also had to adjust the temperature and the time on my slow cooker. I cooked the soup on high for eight to nine hours, instead of the low setting and 10-12 hours in the original recipe.

This soup feeds at least eight people. I turned the leftovers of which there were plenty into a Mexican chicken casserole the next night. Two meals for four people with one pot of soup? That's thrifty cooking in my book. I used a rotisserie chicken in the casserole and saved 1- 1/2 cups of the meat for stuffed crescent pockets on the third night. Again, I was stretching my cooking dollar, and, oftentimes, we put more meat into dishes than is really needed.

If I were not making this vegetarian, I would add

some cooked and drained chorizo, or Mexican sausage, to the beans.

SOUTHWESTERN BEAN SOUP WITH CORNMEAL DUMPLINGS

3 cups water

1 package dried red beans, rinsed, picked through and soaked overnight

1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 (14 1/2-ounce) can tomatoes with green chilies

1 (10-ounce) package frozen whole kernel corn

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup sliced carrots (I didn't have any, so I didn't use)

1 (4-ounce) can diced green chili peppers

2 tablespoons vegetable bouillon granules

1 to 2 teaspoons chili powder

2 cloves garlic, minced

Dumplings:

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup yellow cornmeal

1 teaspoon baking powder

Dash salt

Dash pepper

1 beaten egg white

2 tablespoons milk

1 tablespoon cooking oil

In a slow cooker, combine water, beans, undrained tomatoes, corn, carrot, onion, undrained chili peppers, bouillon, chili powder and garlic. Cover and cook on high heat for 8 to 9 hours or until red beans are soft.

In medium mixing bowl, stir together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt and pepper. In a small mixing bowl, combine egg white, milk and oil. Add to flour mixture; stir with a fork just until combined. Drop dumpling mixture into 6 mounts atop the bubbling soup. Cover and cook for 30 minutes more. (Do not lift lid while dumplings are cooking.) Makes 8 servings.

MEXICAN CHICKEN CASSEROLE

Leftover Southwestern Bean Soup

12 soft corn tortillas

1 store-bought rotisserie chicken, deboned, skinned and shredded

1- 1/2 to 2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

Spray 13-by-9-inch casserole with nonstick spray. Place 6 corn tortillas overlapping on bottom.  Spread half of leftover bean soup on top of tortillas. Sprinkle on shredded chicken. Top with 1/2 of Cheddar cheese. Repeat layers ending with Cheddar cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and casserole is heated through.

MORE GNOCCHI SOUP

Helen Titler of Gulfport, Miss., adds another chicken gnocchi soup to the pot of recipes. Her sister, who lives in Austin, Texas, sent her the recipe.

Instead of using all half-and-half or heavy cream, Titler cuts some of the fat by using half and half and 2 percent milk.

CHICKEN GNOCCHI SOUP

1 cup chicken breasts, cooked and diced

4 tablespoons butter

4 tablespoons flour

1 pint half and half

1 pint or 16 ounces 2-percent reduced fat milk

1 (14-ounce) can chicken broth

1/2 cup celery, finely diced

2 minced garlic cloves

1 cup carrots, finely shredded

1 cup onion, diced finely

1 cup spinach, chopped coarsely

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon thyme

1/2 teaspoon parsley

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 pound potato gnocchi, homemade or store-bought

Saute onion, celery and garlic in butter and olive oil over medium heat until onion becomes translucent. Add the flour and make a roux. Let the butter and flour mixture cook for about a minute before adding 1 pint half and half and 1 pint 2-percent milk.

Cook gnocchi according to package directions.

Into the roux, add carrots and chicken. Once the mixture thickens, add the chicken broth. Once the mixture thickens again, add the cooked gnocchi, spinach and seasoning; simmer until soup is heated through.

-- Submitted by Helen Titler

SHOWER FOODS, PLEASE

An anonymous reader asked for recipes for upcoming bridal and baby showers.

"I find myself co-hosting both, and I would love some new ideas," she said. "I am searching for finger foods and possibly new ideas for cakes, cake pops or cupcakes. Any decorating ideas also would be appreciated."

Readers, please send me showers of ideas for this reader.

Send, contributions or requests for this column to Cook's Exchange, P.O. Box 4567, Biloxi, MS 39535-4567. If requesting a recipe, please include the name or briefly describe it and the ingredients. If you are submitting a recipe, please include the date requested. You can reach Andrea Yeager at 832-8568 or to ayeager51@cableone.net.

This story was originally published March 21, 2012 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Meatless meals still filling, flavorful, thrifty."